Man Who Stole Tesla Motors Inc Model S In LA Is Dead

Man that sneaked the Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S few days ago and later crashed the car through a pole has succumbed to his injuries. Flot’s death is the first instance, which the company is aware of, for a Model S driver involved in a collision.

Tesla Model S catching fire on July 4, 2014. (Image Credit: RMG News)

First instance for Tesla

Joshua Michael Flot, 26, of Inglewood, California, died on July 7 at 2:23 p.m. local time as confirmed on the phone by Ed Winter, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s department, according to Bloomberg. Police did not disclose the identity of the deceased to make sure that the family gets the news.

“We are saddened by the harm that resulted from the July 4 theft and crash,” said Simon Sproule, a spokesman for Tesla Motors Inc. He said that the company is in discussion with authorities to take forward the investigation.

Flot stole the car in the early morning on July 4th from Tesla Motors service center in West Los Angeles and got into high-speed chase to dodge the police before hitting vehicles on La Brea Avenue in West Hollywood. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff and Fire Department, the vehicle hit a pole, and the driver was thrown out of the car.

Safety in questions?

Others wounded in the crash were Ruben Hakobyan, 27 along with four more passengers in Honda Civic 2012 model. Hakobyan’s vehicle was waiting at a traffic signal on La Brea, when the front of the Tesla hit the car roof after which Hakobyan got unconscious.

“I didn’t hear anything before it happened — no sirens, no nothing,” Hakobyan said yesterday. He retained his consciousness after firemen pulled him out of his car. Hakobyan recalled that the pole was hovering against a building, and the front portion of Model S was in the fire. Both Hakobyan and his attorney were unaware of the other passengers’ condition in the car.

The surreptitious doubts about the safety level of the electric car surfaced again with the accident. Last year, two Model S, crashed and caught fire, which necessitated the US regulators to intervene and to do a safety review.

Tesla added titanium shield to armor the battery pack of the car. CEO Elon Musk acknowledged the crash and fire in Model S, but said that no fatalities in the accident reveal the safety level of Tesla.

Tesla Model S has conceded best reviews over its safety-level and saving a crash like this was beyond company’s capability.